Medicine shortages in Ireland 🇮🇪

Key facts

• As of 5 November 2026, 207 medicines have open availability reports in Ireland (355 product-level reports).
• 22 new reports were filed in November 2026.
• Most common stated cause: manufacturing problems (199 reports).
• Longest-running open case: Diclofenac epolamine, since 2022-10-01.
• Official source: HPRA (Ireland), checked daily.

355 product-level reports are open, 22 new reports were filed in November 2026. Where the register states a cause, the leading ones are manufacturing problems (199), unexpectedly high demand (81) out of 338 reports with a stated cause. The longest-running open case is Diclofenac epolamine, reported on 2022-10-01 — about 49 months ago.

How to read this register: HPRA reports per-product shortages with an expected return date and whether an authorised alternative exists — one of the few registers publishing prognosis dates for everything.

How medicine shortages are managed in Ireland

Ireland runs a formal multi-stakeholder Medicine Shortages Framework coordinated by the HPRA — manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacists and the HSE around one table — which is why nearly every Irish entry carries an expected return date, rare among European registers.

Recent Irish legislation enables serious-shortage substitution protocols: once a protocol is in force for a medicine, pharmacists may supply the listed alternative without a new prescription.

Where nothing equivalent is authorised in Ireland, prescribers can source an unauthorised equivalent through wholesalers under the exempt-medicines route — common for a small market at the end of international supply chains.

Ireland's scale is its structural weakness: with a small population, manufacturers allocate limited stock to bigger markets first, so global shortages often reach Irish pharmacies earlier and linger longer.

What to do if your medicine is affected in Ireland

HPRA publishes an expected return date for nearly every shortage — check the Expected end column. Where an authorised alternative exists the register says so; your pharmacist can advise, and for certain medicines substitution protocols allow a pharmacist to supply a listed alternative without a new prescription. Never stop a treatment on your own — confirm any switch with your pharmacist or prescriber.

Searched locally as: medicine shortages Ireland, out of stock medicine.

Newest reports

All affected medicines

Shortages by country

Frequently asked

How many medicines are currently in shortage in Ireland?

As of 5 November 2026, 207 medicines have open availability reports in HPRA (Ireland), covering 355 product-level entries. 22 new reports were filed in November 2026.

Where does Ireland publish its official shortage list?

HPRA (Ireland) — this page aggregates it daily and links every entry back to the official record. HPRA reports per-product shortages with an expected return date and whether an authorised alternative exists — one of the few registers publishing prognosis dates for everything.

Can an Irish pharmacist give me a different medicine during a shortage?

If a substitution protocol is active for your medicine, yes — the pharmacist supplies the listed alternative without a new prescription. Otherwise the register flags whether an authorised alternative exists, and your pharmacist or GP arranges the switch; for some medicines an unauthorised import is the fallback.

When will my medicine be back in stock in Ireland?

Ireland is unusually transparent here: the HPRA publishes an expected return date for nearly every listed shortage — see the Expected end column on this page, and treat it as the manufacturer's current estimate rather than a promise. Dates slip, so re-check before relying on one.

Embed this counter

Newsrooms and health sites may embed the live Ireland shortage count — free, with attribution:

<iframe src="https://www.mobidoctor.eu/medicine-shortages/country/ie/embed.html" width="100%" height="130" loading="lazy" style="border:1px solid #e1e0d9;border-radius:12px" title="Medicine shortages in Ireland"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:12px">Source: <a href="https://www.mobidoctor.eu/medicine-shortages/country/ie/">Medicine shortages in Ireland — European Medicine Shortage Tracker</a> by MobiDoctor</p>